Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-06-02
YARN-YARD MANURE.
Row Co Store 1t SO as to Improve It's Qua
ifY and


uure made on Western farms is wasted.
Much of it is washed into the streams
and drains and is lost. A considerable
proportion of the nitrogen it contains
becomes volatile during the process of
fermentation and passes into the air.
Much OF the manure that is thrown in
TO heaps as when it is pitched out of
the windows and doors of stables be-
comes firefanged and is rendered al
most va1ueless as a fertilizer. Ammo
MIA was formed in it. but it was driven
OF by the heat. Little remains in it
but carbon and mineral substances.
The wasting and deterioration of ma
nure go on faster during the summer
than in winter. That which accumu-
lates in heaps becomes firefanged, and
that which is spread over the ground
becomes dry and hard. The droppings
of cattle that are long exposed to the
action of the sun and wind contain lit
tie but woody fiber. Tourists and hum
tiers who go over the great Western
plains use buffalo dung for cooking
their food, and find that it gives off
very little odor while burning. Dung
that has become dry enough to burn is
Oof little value as q fertilizer for most
kinds of land. 1t will remain in dry
soils in the form of hard Jumps unless
considerable labor is spent in pulver-
izing it.
Manure made during the winter in
this part of the country is not likely to
be injured by heating. If it accumu-
iates in the feeding yard or is thrown
out of stables it generally becomes
frozen, and remains In that condition
till the next spring. when it is hauled
into the fields. Much of it is likely to
be washed away during the heavy win
ter rains, but little will be lost by evap-
Grafton. The crude manure. consist
ing of dung, urine. the bedding of
horses and cattle. and the coarse fodder
which they refuse to eat, is not in a
suitable condition to apply to land de-
signed to produce most kinds of food
crops. The dung itself is too rank
to apply to land intended to pro-
duce small grain. beans, potatoes
or roots. 1t will be likely to Impart
bad flavor to crops that grow in the
soil. 1t will stimulate the production
of stalks and leaves rather than grain.
1t will produce luxuriant growth of
clover and of most kinds of grass, but
they will not be relished by cattle either
in the green or dry state. 1t is better
for corn than any cultivated crop. The
rejected fodder and bedding that are
mixed with the dung will be of little or
no use to any crop till they remain in
the soil long enough to become rotted.
Ordinarily they will be of no value to
crops raised on the land the same sea-
son they are applied.
Ordinary barn-yard manure, COM
posed of the dung of cattle and horses,
the litter used for bedding them. and
the fodder they have rejected, should
be thoroughly mixed. fermented and
Rrttted before it is applied to land de-
signed to produce food crops. These
changes should be brought
ABOUT under conditions that will pre-
vent waste by evaporation or washing.
They should proceed slowly. so that
little heat will be produced. Con
siderable moisture is necessary to ia
cilitate rotting and retard chemical &C
ton or fermentation. Air should not be
allowed to freely circulate through the
mass, as it will raise the heat to such a
degree as to produce fire-fanging. The
dung of horses and the litter used in
their stalls for bedding will quickly
heat during warm weather if they are
thrown into heaps by themselves. 1t
as better to have them mixed with the
ding of cattle, as the latter will help
keep the former moist and will also help
exclude the air. The pressure pro-
duced by a large pile of manure is
favorable to slow decomposition and
the prevention of loss by evaporation.
A large heap, however. unless located
on a low piece of ground ard protected
from the sun and wind. is unfavorabie
TO the retention of moisture. SodS
placed with the grass sides against a
manure heap will be of great value
in helping retain moisture. The
closer the manure is packed the bet
ter will the rotting proceed and the
smaller win be the volatile substances.
Soap-suds, dish-water. urine and the
water that accumulates in low
places in the barnyard after rain
will be of great value to the
manure heap if thrown upon
it. They assist in decOmposing the dry
materials in the heap and contain much
valuable fertilizing material. 1t is
often practical to conduct water from
the eaves-trough of the barn so as to
keep a manure heap moist. but care
be taken not to allow TOO much
to run upon it and cause it to wash
away.
Experiments made in Eastern coun-
tries show that an excavation like a
subterranean silo is best for the pre-
servation and decomposition of mixed
manure. In such q place it is not
wa shed nv the rain or dried hY the sun